Abstract
Objective. The main objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between poverty, religion, and suicidal thoughts among U.S. youth. The disparities regarding gender, race, and ethnicity with regard to suicidal thoughts were also assessed. Methods. A cross-sectional correlational research design was used for this study and a national representative sample of 1945 young adults aged 18 to 25 was selected from the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Logistic regression analysis with interaction effects was utilized to determine if poverty and religion were associated with suicidal thoughts. Results. About 43 percent of the sample reported having suicidal thoughts when things got worse and this prevalence rate varied by gender and race/ethnicity with white males self-disclosing the highest rate of suicidal thoughts. After adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, black males who lived up to two times the poverty line had a higher likelihood of suicidal thoughts (p = 0.011), and religion protected against suicidal thoughts (p = 0.012). Youth with lower education and poor health were more inclined to have suicidal thoughts than their peers. Conclusions. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for American young adults aged 18 to 25. Understanding these differences between social determinants of suicide can help public health researchers strategize how to make evidence-based recommendations for suicide prevention efforts.
Highlights
Suicide is becoming a growing global public health concern in all regions of the world. precise global estimates of suicide rates are not easy to obtain, about 35 percent of World Health Organization (WHO) member nations have established comprehensive vital registration of suicides [1], which is defined as death caused by self-directed injurious behavior with intent to die as a result of the behavior [2]
Precise global estimates of suicide rates are not easy to obtain, about 35 percent of World Health Organization (WHO) member nations have established comprehensive vital registration of suicides [1], which is defined as death caused by self-directed injurious behavior with intent to die as a result of the behavior [2]
In terms of total family income, which is measured by poverty status according to the federal poverty line, one quarter of the sample participants live in poverty (27.8%), another one quarter of the sample live up to two times federal poverty line (25.2%), and half of the sample live greater than two times the poverty line (46.9%)
Summary
Precise global estimates of suicide rates are not easy to obtain, about 35 percent of World Health Organization (WHO) member nations have established comprehensive vital registration of suicides [1], which is defined as death caused by self-directed injurious behavior with intent to die as a result of the behavior [2]. Nearly 12 million adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.5 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.4 million attempted suicide in 2019 Another data brief on suicide trends during the past twenty years from 1999 through 2019 by the CDC [5] disclosed that the age-adjusted suicide rate increased from 10.5 per 100,000 standard population in 1999 to 14.2 in 2018 and 13.9 in 2019.
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